"If you're not back here at 1 PM, we can't wait for you anymore. It's not fair to your teammates."
That was the message that Gabriella woke up to.
As the day began, she was again in preparation to see Yuzuru for his free skate. It's also the last day of his competition. She wanted so badly for him to win. She didn't know why for she wasn't the one competing, but in a sense, she just wanted to see him completely joyful.
In a way, seeing him succeed might spark some type of moving magic within her to pick herself up and start being more responsible.
She received lots of calls today. None of which she picked up. She still refused to let anyone know where she is.
She knew it was wrong and irresponsible, but that was the least of her worries right now.
It's funny because she always thought that she had pretty good self-control and that she wasn't the type of person that would just go MIA without letting anyone know. She was so sure of herself, but right now, that wasn't the case.
She was feeling better than yesterday, but still confused. Yuzuru skating his heart out on the ice knocked a bit of sense into her. It was nothing short of a reminder.
The way she saw Yuzuru enjoying his skate made her remember how much she enjoyed playing badminton.
In a sense, though she had only been gone for a day, she was starting to miss it.
She was coming from the hotel she booked to a bus stop that was going to take her to the arena when she saw a group of kids playing badminton at the side of an empty street.
They had fun as they ran around trying to rally their shuttle cock from one side to another. There was that spark in their eyes. It was youthful and fresh. They were carefree and they looked as though they had nothing much to worry about at that moment except for that game of badminton they were having.
Gabriella thought that they were pretty good. Their rallies would last for a while, and overall they had good technique and footwork.
It made her smile as they reminded her of how she found her love for badminton.
It was a very similar situation to this very moment. She was walking the streets of Seoul with her father, and as they were strolling around, she saw a group of teenagers with their rackets, having fun as they played the sport she once never knew.
She asked her father what the sport was and that was when he introduced her to badminton. At first, they would do it together every weekend, then Gabriella enjoyed it more than she thought she would so they allowed her to play on Wednesdays and Fridays too. That's when she got picked up by Coach Browne.
He saw something in her that made him want to train her and help her improve.
She has gone a long way since. She's a national athlete now, someone whom she thought she would never become.
She took a deep sigh as she kept walking towards the bus stop. She turned away from the children and so did the smile that was resting blankly on her face.
She waited for a while until a bus finally came to bring her to where she needed to go.
She immediately stepped in, wondering what feats she was going to witness as she watches another one of Yuzuru's programs.
Generally, it was all going so well until her knee started hurting again. It's been happening a lot quite recently. Especially during her training week, it had been hurting worse the more it happens.
This one was just as bad. If not for the fact that she was alone on the bus, people would have been staring at her for the way she reacted. Even the driver kept giving her concerned glances, but she just smiled through the pain.
She closed her eyes, waiting for it to pass just like all the others did, but this one took a while. It did stop sometime soon, but it was obvious that the more she was keeping this at bay, the more it was getting worse.
As the pain gradually stopped, she was catching her breath and sweating hard.
It was faint, but she could hear the sound of something that admittedly bothered her. She was almost at the end of her playing years.
Ironically, on the day she saw her young self, discovering badminton, she also saw a glimpse of how she was to let it go.
A few more minutes passed by and soon enough, she was at the arena. Just as the day before, she lined up to get in.
There were so many people. Most of them were Yuzuru's fans. Though there were people who came there for other skaters, there were more who came for Yuzuru as told by their banners and headwear.
He had an arena full of fans. If anything it was like an ocean of people.
Gabriella was filled in thought for a moment. How lucky she must have been to have known Yuzuru personally? It could have been anyone else. Perhaps someone better, more confident, wiser. She thought that there were a plethora of people who deserved the chance of meeting him, but he met her instead.
The way the world works could be interesting at times.
As the competition commenced for the second day, Gabriella, with a head full of loss and expectations, waited until she could see Yuzuru again.
There were a lot of things to look forward to.
It took a while, but eventually, she got there.
There were a lot of good skaters, but in this type of competition, only one can truly rise above the others.
As Yuzuru came on the ice, the crowd was in chorus. Gabriella has heard this for the second time now, but it's still something that amazes her.
She couldn't help but smile at the warmth that people provided him. She was happy that he was getting the support that he deserved to have.
Today, he was performing a program called Seimei. When she saw him today, she immediately thought that she liked this program costume more than Chopin. He gave off princely vibes. He genuinely looked like warrior who's was also part of royalty.
Just as he did during the day before, he skated around as his music was getting prepared. By the time he got to the middle of the rink, he stood still in his opening position, waiting for the music to kick in.
As the first beat entered, he was already in the motion of his program. He raised his arm at the beat of the sound and proceeded to venture the ice he skated on. As he skated, he embodied the soul of a warrior.
The music was calming, yet challenging, and it's not only something that you can hear. The way Yuzuru skated through it felt like a battle between the good and bad. It felt like an internal conflict, it felt like a back-and-forth fight with swords and shields.
Gabriella had her eyebrows furrowed the entire time that she watched, she clenched her chest, watching every jump, and every step sequence that Yuzuru was doing.
It hit too close to home.
She had stayed there for too long.
In that sequence of battle, she was at her breaking point so she never questioned what came after. Somewhere along the fight, she just stopped. Or perhaps this crisis was still part of the fighting. Either way, there was one thing clear in her mind.
-
The gradual progression of the program reached deep within. Coming from the area of struggle, to the fighting, the longing, the bargaining—until the climax, and finally victory.
Things had not been easy for Yuzuru. There were a plethora of things he had to go through before achieving this moment. He had to face a lot of doubt, a lot of comments, and expectations from the people around him—from the people who called themselves his fans. He had to experience a lot of injuries—he had just come from one.
He deserved the victory. His passion burned brighter than those he competed with, and in a competition, it's not just skills you compete with. It's passion.
How far are you willing to go?
How much will you push yourself?
As he ended his program, he raised his hand, unable to stay still the way he usually would. He broke out of character and into a smile of pure joy.
That moment was quite powerful. The way he was happy with how he skated somehow ignited something in the people who watched him. Sports and life, in general, will not smile upon you every time you see it, it doesn't work that way. But it takes a while to realize it.
Therefore,
for the last time, if there is still something waiting for her, then she'll make the best out of it.
On the scene of the ice, as soon as Yuzuru heard the crowd in chorus as his last beat ended. One thing was for sure.
He won..
And he knew that.
With a bright smile on his face, he raised both of his arms to feel the presence of the crowd one last time before he left the rink, and once more, there was that ocean of support. People cheered for him. People were in chorus, singing out how proud they were of who he has become.
As he catches his breath, Pooh bears were raining from the fans who watched him.
Gabriella was in that sea of people. Once more touched by how ethereal Yuzuru could be when he skates. His music was perfect, but he was something indescribable by any word present.
Chopin was good, but there was something so relevant and touching about the way Seimei pushed through, and as she cheered, she was getting a clearer foresight.
That whole program felt like it just reflected the internal conflict that she was having.
If anything, to her it felt like a snap back to reality.
Who did she want to be?
How did she want to go?
There were so many things that a program can tell you, in ways you'd never understand.
In that way, many sensations became clearer to her. It helped—it was there to push her back in the right direction.
Gabriella was already certain that Yuzuru would win. She was proud to have seen his winning skate. She was finally with a full smile as she stood up and applauded, after that she knew what she had to do—what she had to go back to.
At least while she still can.
She felt sad that she would miss seeing Yuzuru happily celebrate his success, but she knew that she's seen enough. It was already a privilege to see him in good spirits.
It was time to be responsible. She made a mistake by leaving without a single word to say, and whatever waits for her in her return, whether punishment or welcoming, she's willing to take it all.
She walked out of the main arena as all the people kept cheering. For some reason, their screams got louder as Gabriella made her way to exit the facility.
It made her curious as to what was causing the commotion, but she didn't return to feed the questions of her head.
She continued walking away completely unbothered. She had gotten what she came for, seen what she needed to see, and felt what she needed to feel.
She wanted to see him. That was a fact. She wanted to talk to him and perhaps embrace him. She wanted to congratulate him because he gave his heart to the ice and it wasn't in vain.
He won. He deserved it all.
Now, she felt the need to do her part. After all, she promised.
And as much as people say that promises are meant to be broken, this wasn't one that she wanted to break.
...
So she continued walking away, until,
"Wait!" A breathy voice from behind her yelled.
Gabriella's attention was completely captured. She turned around in search of the voice that she felt called out to her.
"Yuzuru?" She spoke in question. Her eyes were glistening, as if this was a moment that she had been waiting for, for such a long time.
A part of her was already accepting that maybe they weren't meant to see each other yet. Not this time.
But now she was seeing him, not too close, not too far. He was in his costume, continuously breathing heavily as he just ran from the arena toward the lobby.
"You're just going to leave without saying a word?" He stood up straight, still with an exhausted expression on his face.
Gabriella couldn't stop looking at him with tears forming in her eyes. She had been waiting for so long.
Too long.
She thought that after the program of his that she had just witnessed, she was already fine, but upon seeing him standing in front of her... It didn't only feel like she was alright, it felt like someone was internally comforting her soul.
He didn't have to say another word to make her feel better. The healing felt as though it was already starting just by knowing that he knew she was there.
Perhaps it was the emotions moving, but without words to say, without anything else to think about, she just couldn't stop herself as she approached him.
Was it the most appropriate place to do that? Perhaps not, but something else was in control at that moment.
The longing had been marinating for so long that it was finally putting itself into play.
Unable to fully grasp the movement of her foot, she walked to him faster than she thought she would. As a tear escaped her eyes, she couldn't help but wrap her arms around him and just stay like that for a few seconds.
Even the smallest moment of that embrace was a testament to everything she has ever wanted to tell him. Every pain and burden of the last few weeks that she'd been carrying alone.
Only as she embraced him did she realize how exhausted she was. That even if she was on her way back, she did not digress from the fact that she was worn out.
Yuzuru was quite taken aback by Gabriella's response to his simple and sarcastic question.
Though he had missed her the same way, it was obvious to him that the week they had away from each other varied. In the moments wherein he felt as though he perfected his skate, he only wondered what Gabriella was feeling and going through in her own time.
Nonetheless, the way they were right now, showed him exactly the answer to the questions he had in mind. That despite their efforts in their specialties, life will not always smile upon everyone.
He smiled sparingly, feeling a sense of warmth in the small moment.
As time shows, he was happy not just because they met again, but because he felt as though he fulfilled his principle.
As much as he skated for himself, he skated for those who watched him. That despite coming from different walks of life, his programs may bring inspiration and comfort to everyone who sees it. He felt like he accomplished that today, and he couldn't be happier.
Eventually, Gabriella pulled away from the embrace with tear-stained eyes. She looked at Yuzuru with endearment and overflowing happiness. This was all she wanted from today. This was enough.
She smiled brightly. She was happy for him.
"I don't think I have to say this, but you skated beautifully in the terms of figure skating that I can understand." She said to him with a chuckle.
"I had to. I had a very specific goal and motivation in mind." He smiled to himself as he got lost in his thoughts for a brief moment.
"Then, it's my turn. Right now, I too have a very specific goal and motivation in mind." Gabriella replied, a beaming thought lingering in her expression.
Yuzuru also smiled along with a small nod. "Yes. It is." Yuzuru replied. He had his iPod in his hand, and he opened it for a moment to check the time.
"You still have forty minutes until you lose that opportunity, so you should start moving." He looked back at Gabriella as he spoke.
"What do you mean?" Gabriella replied in confusion.
"You have to be back at the training center by 1 pm, right?" He replied, taking in what remembered from a text he had gotten a day before.
"How do you know that?" She asked.
"You have a certain friend who tells me things." He just simply replied.
Joanna.
Gabriella kept her silence as she realized who he was talking about.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead. You have a promise to keep." He spoke once more.
Gabriella can't help but smile. She felt the support even in the simplest of his words.
"You know, you can be extremely intimidating when you're in a good mood..." She said to him.
But then he replied, "You know, I'll be even more intimidating if you don't make it to the court by 1 pm, then you end up regretting it. So go." He said.
Gabriella just laughed in sheer disbelief, but then again, he wasn't wrong.
She would regret it if she couldn't make it. That being said, she smiled at Yuzuru one last time and started running out.
"We'll talk later! I'll call you! FOR LONG HOURS!" Gabriella said out loud, even raising the phone hand sign as she went through the exit doors.
She then left at a quick pace, running out of the lobby in an attempt to make it back in time.
Yuzuru just watched as she slowly disappeared through the distance.
He smiled, knowing that she would make it. He knew how much brighter her passion burns, especially when she's motivated.
As for him, he returned to the main arena, waiting for a few more moments until he is awarded for his efforts. Though it wasn't the formal awarding yet, it was still something he looked forward to, because whether other people believed it or not, he knew he deserved to win.
A lot of things can happen in a day.
One skate can bring life.
One smile can bring motivation.
One word can bring drive.
Certain factors in the world seem abstract and insignificant, but they end up being the most important factors in making crucial decisions.